The thought startled me. I shook my head. Jade wasn’t mine.
Yet.
I ground my teeth. No, we had no connection beyond the collar, the night of intimacy, the warm way we felt while together...
“I found it!”
The contestant’s triumphant cry shattered the silence in the library.
My heart sank like a rock into the pit of my stomach.
No!
The hairs on the back of my neck bristled like hackles and my claws sprang out. I was so upset, I was halfway to shifting.
But there was nothing I could do. I watched with ugly dread as some omega—a deer shifter I’d seen around—ran towards Gaius and Jade, the tome clutched in his fingers.
Poppy must’ve noticed my barely veiled fury because he pointed out, “It could be the wrong book.”
“Let’s hope,” I muttered.
He regarded my face. “You actually really like Jade, don’t you, Alaric?”
I opened my mouth to insist thatno, I didnotlike that green-haired pervert freak.
Except I did.
I really, really did.
I clamped my mouth shut with a frustrated exhale, then ground out, “Yes.”
“Aww!” Poppy clapped his hands together. His expression was tender and happy, like he’d just watched a stray kitten get adopted. “Thank you for telling me. Now I can try to help you win the challenges.”
I sighed. There was no point convincing him otherwise. The stupidly compassionate furball would go to any lengths to help somebody in need.
“All right, wolf, I accept your help.” I turned my disappointed glare on the deer shifter waving his book around. “But if that omega wins now, there won’t be a point.”
Poppy shook his head with determination. “Don’t worry, Alaric. Love always wins.”
I withheld a gag at his cheesy remark.
But then, something wonderful happened.
“Ooh, sorry, my friend!” Gaius said, patting the deer shifter on the back. “I’m afraid1001 Libraries Around the Worldis the wrong answer. You’re out!”
My heart soared. The omega picked the wrong book—that meant I could still win.
I caught a subtle hint of relief on Jade’s face as the loser sulked off set. I had to admit, my jealous self vibrated with joy.
That’s what he gets for coveting my Jade,I thought smugly.
Renewed with the power of schadenfreude, I returned diligently to my task. I had to think. Of course it wouldn’t be an obvious answer like the1001 Librariesbook. It had to be something Jade truly cared about—a book only someone who understood him would recognize.
“It’s this one!” a contestant across the aisle yelled.
I held my breath again only for him to be turned down and dismissed. As the failed attempts continued around me, I calmed down. These people didn’t have a clue what they were doing. They didn’t know Jade like I did.
As I scanned the shelves, a sudden familiar note tickled my nose. It smelled like Jade’s office.
